This is Me
by nicfanz
Summary: After her disastrous performance at Final Jam, Tess ran into her cabin and sobbed her eyes out. Shane, looking for Mitchie, came in and the two had a little encounter. One-shot. Shess.


I watched Camp Rock and I thought it was a good movie. I'm not a huge fan of the Jonas Brothers or any actors of Camp Rock yet I was compelled to write this story. I think it's because I love quirky, unpopular couples. Though Tess was portrayed as one-dimensional until the end of the movie, I liked her better than Mitchie. I thought pairing Tess and Shane together would be cool. I know a lot of people here prefer Smitchie but I think Camp Rock needs a little more Shess.

* * *

Tess Tyler walked quickly to her cabin and collapsed onto the wooden floor. Putting her arms above her head, she let her pent up emotions flow into a river of tears down her cheeks. If anyone walked in and saw her right now, they would think they were on an episode of _Punk'd_. Tess Tyler never cried; she was the epitome of the coldhearted ice queen. She was the one everyone looked up to, the one everyone feared, the one everyone wanted to be. To her, emotions equaled vulnerability which equaled weakness. Her thoughts ran back to an hour ago at Final Jam.

_She was on stage, dancing and singing to her rehearsed song Two Stars. Everyone was clapping along to her performance and Connect Three seemed to enjoy it, too. Then the unthinkable happened: she spotted her mother talking on the phone to who was probably an important business client. Shocked and hurt, she began messing up her lines and losing her spot on stage. Everyone was staring at her, mouths wide open, looks of confusion etches on their faces. Embarrassed and humiliated at her horrific performance, she ran off the stage. _

Everything had been perfect until her mother decided to take that phone call. She was sure Shane Grey was going to be hers after she caught him bopping along to her performance. But who was she kidding. She could have given the performance of a lifetime and it wouldn't have mattered. When that cook's daughter, Mitchie Torres, appeared on stage and uttered the words _''This is me,''_ Tess knew the brunette girl had Shane at hello. They were perfect together; their voices blended together like a delicious smoothie. She was sure no one could have done a better duet than those two. They also looked good together. Mitchie was pretty and Shane was gorgeous. After their performance together, they had been Camp Rock's golden couple. The thought almost made her gag. Though she had apologized to the girl, mostly out of defeat, they were not going shopping at Forever 21 anytime soon.

She heard footsteps and quickly wiped her puffy red eyes. There were a couple of knocks on the screen door and she wondered who was on the other side. ''Who is it?''

''It's Shane Grey.''

She quickly sat up in curiosity. What was Shane doing here? Wasn't he supposed to be with Mitchie, his new girlfriend? A pang of jealousy boiled in the pit of her stomach. ''Come in,'' she replied, straightening out her long blond hair with her fingers.

Shane opened the door and stepped inside the small cabin. He looked around and his eyebrows furrowed. ''Where's Mitchie?'' he inquired, finally looking at the blonde girl.

''Mitchie?'' Tess asked in confusion. ''Isn't she with you?''

The Connect Three lead singer shook his head. ''She was; then she left to talk to Caitlyn. I thought she went back here.'' He then noticed her puffy, swollen eyes and a look of concern marred his attractive visage. ''Hey, are you okay?''

She nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and nodded. ''Yeah, why wouldn't I be?'' She wondered if he could see that she had been crying.

Shane shrugged. "I figured after what happened tonight at Final Jam, you would not be in the best of spirits.''

She looked at the wooden floor, which was easier than looking him in the eyes. ''Oh, you mean when I saw my mother talking on the phone rather than paying attention to me?'' She asked bitterly.

Shane sat down beside her. ''I'm sorry about your mom. It must suck to have a mom who always put her job before her child.'' His expression was sympathetic and for a second, Tess really believed that he cared about her.

She stood up and wiped her eyes, erasing any shed of tear in her blue eyes. ''Yeah, well, I'm used to it. So you can go back to your precious girlfriend now.'' She folded her arms across her chest and bit down on her lip to keep from crying again. She is not going to show weakness in front of anyone, especially not in front of Shane Grey.

Shane stood up, also. ''Fine. I'm sorry I cared. I guess I'll see you next summer.'' He made his way to the door when she turned around.

''You don't know what it's like, to have a mother who goes on business trips 275 days out of the year. The rest of the time she's on vacation with her constantly changing boyfriends. You don't know what it's like to never having someone wish you a happy birthday. You know what she did on my last birthday? She sent me a card from Paris with a gift certificate to a spa resort,'' Tess sobbed and collapsed to the ground. She felt a pair of arms engulf her and she leaned into the warmth.

"It's okay,'' Shane said softly, rubbing her back gently. ''Everything will be okay.''

Tess pushed herself from him gently and looked up into his eyes. ''Don't you see? This is me. The _real_ me. I'm not perfect. I'm not mean. I'm lonely and I'm scared. I don't have anyone. That's why I am the way I am. This is me.''

Shane smiled and leaned in, his forehead touching hers. ''You're the missing piece I need and I found you.''


End file.
